Together, these results suggest that lateralization of language function

to the left hemisphere is advantageous to the individual and this advantage is independent of lateralization of visuospatial memory. This result is not in agreement with earlier fTCD studies in adults that suggested no disadvantage in terms of education level (Flöel et al. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical 2001, 2005; Whitehouse and Bishop 2009; Rosch et al. in press), intelligence, mastery of foreign languages, or www.selleckchem.com/products/byl719.html artistic abilities (Knecht et al. 2001; Jansen et al. 2005) in individuals with atypical (right-hemisphere) lateralization for language. Our use of more specific tests of language ability and the inclusion of children from across the normal range of ability (instead of well-educated university students) Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical are possible explanations for this discrepancy. The finding of a link between nonword

reading and cerebral lateralization is consistent with a study by Illingworth and Bishop (2009) that used fTCD to demonstrate reduced cerebral lateralization for language in dyslexic adults. Previously, where links have been found between language level and cerebral laterality, it has been noted that weak lateralization could be the consequence rather than the cause of language limitations. With regard to reading, a recent neuroimaging Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical study lends support to the “consequence rather than cause” idea. Reading development in typically developing five-year-olds was associated with a shift from bilateral to left-lateralized Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical activation in the temporoparietal region with age whereas no such shift was observed in a group of children at-risk of reading difficulties (Yamada et al. 2010). This relation to absolute Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical skill development does not

bear out in our data as the associations found in the current study were with age-scaled scores; age, which is strongly associated with raw vocabulary level, was not a significant predictor of language lateralization and raw vocabulary and nonword reading scores did not differ between lateralization groups. Although cause cannot be distinguished from consequence within the current dataset, the results suggest that skill level within an age band rather than absolute skill level was through associated with lateralization for language production. As postulated by the Right Shift Theory, we found language advantages for those with left-hemisphere language. Our findings differ from predictions of that theory in some details; in particular, the largest effect was seen for a vocabulary measure, whereas phonological skills have been emphasized by Annett and colleagues (Annett and Turner 1974; Annett and Manning 1990; Annett 1996; Smythe and Annett 2006).